La Ferme d’Araucanie - Self-catering house in Dordogne

Isabelle’s restoration of this old farmhouse - in a wooded valley near Tourtoirac - is inspired by her love of the Dordogne and of rusticity, with dollops of fun and fantasy. You feel cocooned indoors: by wood of all persuasions, neutral colours, recycled terracotta and rough-hewn stone. There are wicker sofas by the big stone fireplace, baskets full of games; furniture fashioned out of old farm tools (a collection to visit too); curiosities and quirky adaptations everywhere - but nothing jars and it’s comfortable and practical. The kitchen-with-everything has a friendly big table, a sink hewn out of honey-coloured stone. Bedrooms aren’t huge but are seductively rustic – the suite under the rafters, gloriously so. It runs practically the length of the house: twin beds at one end and up a few stairs at the other, the double; its bathroom behind a curtain and beams. Each bathroom has a walk-in shower; carved stone alongside white porcelain. Outdoors all is simply lovely: there's four hectares of garden to explore, the pool, the help-yourself vegetable and herb garden, the eating/sitting space under the barn... what more could you want?